Respiratory device



Jan. 4, 1938. w. P. BIGGS 2,104,016

RESPIRATORY DEVICE Filed Oct. 16, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 A from: v

Jan. 4, 1938. w R BIGGS 2,104,016

RESPIRATORY DEVICE Filed Oct. 16, 1935 2 Sheets$heet 2 "Patented Jan. 4, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE,

9 Claims.

(Granted under the act of March 3, 1883, as

7 amended April 30, .1928; 3'10 0. G. 757) This invention relates to a device to protect workers against inhaling fumes arising from paint spraying operations, or the like, and dust from sand blasting, etc.

Among its objects are:

Toprovide an article of the type mentioned that will be effective in accomplishing the purposes for which it is used, that will adjust itself to faces of different sizes and configurations and will not interfere with the wearing of goggles by the user of my invention.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a respirator made in accordance with my invention in position the exclusion of noxious gases or The body portion 1 is made of on the face of a wearer;

Fig. 2 isa section along the median plane defined by the plane of symmetry of the wearers face;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail sectional view showing the method of reinforcing that portion which passes over the nose of the wearer;

Fig. 4 is an axial sectional view of one form of the air inlet fitting;

Fig. 5 is an axial sectional view of an air inlet fitting particularly adapted for use when the air supply is derived from an air hose;'

Fig. '6 shows in axial section the air inlet fitting, a filter canister engageable therewith and an air hose fitting engageable with the canister;

Fig. I is a side elevation of the body of the device showing the section lines upon which various sectional views are taken;

Fig. 8 is an enlarged detail section through the fold at the edge of the body.

Figs. 9, 13, and 14 are fragmentary sectional views taken on the broken lines respectively correspondingly numbered in Fig. 7;

Figs. 10 and 11 are sectional views showing the configuration of the rim and the symmetry of the two sides on lines Ill-l0 and lll I, Fig. '7;

Fig. 12 is a sectional view on the line l2-l2, Fig. 7.

The present invention is an improvement over the device shown in my Patent No. 1,926,027, issued September 12, 1933, and this application is a continuation in part of my copending application Ser. No. 732,817, filed June 28, 1934, now abandoned.

My improved respirator is of the type sometimes termed a half-mask, that is, it covers merely the nose, mouth, and chin of the wearer as it is primarily intended for use in situations that are not dangerous to the eyes but require dust from the respiratory tract.

soft flexible rubber that gradually decreases in thickness from portion 8, to which the air inlet fitting 9 is secured, to the free edgelll. A narrow zone of the material of the body member I substantially equidistant throughout its length from 5 the free edge It! is formed into a roll I I having a base line l2, the boundary contour of the base being substantially an ogee curve on each side of the median plane defined by the plane of symmetry of the wearers face when the mask is in lo operative position. The configuration thus defined permits the mask to fit well up on the nose I of the wearer but leaves sufficicnt space below the eyes to allow the use of goggles when desired and brings the edge of body member I well back un- 15 der the chin. As is shown in Figs. 7 and 8, especially in the latter, the rolled portion is of increasing thickness froin each edge toward the base thereof and the thinnest part of the body proper is at the junction of the roll with the body wall.

Owing to the rather sharp flexure of the body member along a line substantially coinciding with the center line of a wearers nose, the body member would have a tendency to tear easily along the flexure and to prevent this, a piece l3 of fabric is incorporated 'in that part of the body member that lies over the nose, the said fabric being readily extensible transversely of the nose to permit of adaptation thereof to the wearers face but substantially inextensible longitudinally of the nose.

On each side of the body member 1 is a pair of buttons it formed integrally with the body member, the buttons of each pair being roughly equidistant from the adjacent portion of the base l2 of roll H. -A piece of stiff wire l5 has one end secured to each of the buttons l4 and is somewhat convex toward the edge of the body member, this wire serving as an attaching means for 40 head straps l6 which areengaged therewith to be adjustable lengthwise thereof.

9 comprises a cylindrical porit a groove 18 to receive rib Air inlet fitting tion ll having in IS on body member 1 which locks the fitting and the body member in assembled relation, an enlarged cylindrical portion 20 having threads 2|- to engage the threads 22 on filter canister 23, and a cage or spider 24 to retain the one-way air valve 25. The valve 25 is a disc of light material, preferably mica, that is seatable against the frusto-conical flange 26 to prevent the passage of exhaled air through the inlet fitting but 'is readily unseatable to permit the passage of fresh air as the wearer inhales.

When the device is to all) be used in connection with a supply of air under pressure, a hood 2? is secured to cage 24 to direct the stream of air downwardly into the lower part of the mask and so prevent interference with breathing by such streamv of air. Soft rubber fiutter valve 28, of a type well known in this art, is secured to body member I in position to lie adjacent the chin of the wearer so that exhaled air readily passes from the body member 1 and also to relieve immediately any excessive pressure set up by air issuing from the hood 21.

Ordinarily the air surrounding the worker will be breathed after having been drawn through filter canister 23 to eliminate any noxious matters carried thereby, but if for any reason it is desirable or expedient that the air be taken from a source of air under pressure, a tube 29 may form a portion of the connection to the air supply, said tube being provided with a fitting 30 that engages screw threads 3i on filter canister 23.

The effect of forming roll M, as above described, is to predispose that part of the body member adjacent the free edge to roll outwardly when pressure is applied adjacent the base E2 of roll H in fitting the deviceupon the face. The base of the roll is relatively rigid and constrains substantially the entire edge of the body member from. the nose to the lower edge of the jaw to move as a unit, but since the roll passes under the chin on a line transverse to that portion of the roll lying against the check, it prevents the distortion of body member I. from being absorbed merely as an increased roll and compels a relatively wide zone adjacent the edge to move bodily inwardly as though it were being swung on a hinge whereof the axis of rotation lies along the base of roll I I, the angle between the portion passing under the chin and that lying against the cheek acting as a. point of support, or, so to speak, as a bearing for the hinge. An additional factor acting to move the wall of body 1 toward the face arises from the stresses set up by the application of pressure to roll ll. Since the base of the roll is thickened and the material adjacent thereto is thin,'such pressure produces the same effect as beginning to wind the wall material around the roll. The layers of material on the outer surface of the wall are thus placed under compression and those on the inner surface are stretched, due to differences in their radii of curvature. Both the compressive and tensional forces tend to swing the wall bodily around the roll as an axis to relieve the strains in the same angular sense as the rolling movement, and thus the wall is moved in toward the face. The wire member l5 also serves as a stiffener and stress transmitting member to spread the inward swing of the side of the body member over a larger area and prevents any flexure of the body member on a line transverse to the edge. The result of the above described bodily inwardly movement of the sides of member I is to increase greatly the area of contact between the body member and the face of the wearer, thus notably augmenting the efficacy of the gas-tight seal between the mask and the face.

In positioning the device upon the face, the lower portion of body member I is first placed well back under the chin and the upper portion is then drawn up over the nose in such manner as to stretch body member 1 and the tension thus setup causes the mask to adhere closely to the face. I- have found that having the body member 1 somewhat under tensional stress effects a much better contact with the face than when the sole force acting is a pressure against the face due to the pull of head straps l6.' This capacity for stretching also makes the mask fit perfectly upon faces having wide variations in size and contour.

Fig. 7 shows how the thickness of the body 1 decreases outwardly from portion 8 and also that the base of roll II is thickened throughout its length, giving to the material in the roll a lunate or crescent cross section. The fragmentary-sections are taken from the correspondingly labelled portions of the body as indicated by the broken lines connecting the fragmentary sections to the body. This form. differs from Fig. 1 in that the roll continues over the nose.

Fig. 9 is a section taken on the line 9-9, Fig. 7. This discloses the thickened pads 40 that fit against the side of the nose at the inner ends of the orbits of the wearer. It iswell known that much of the gas leakage into masks of this kind takes place adjacent the portion passing over the nose and the pads 40 are provided to secure such tightness of fit as will preclude the said leakage.

The invention herein described may be manufactured and used by or for the Government of the United States of America for governmental purposes without the payment of any royalties thereon or therefor.

What is claimed is:

1. In a respirator device, a rubber member t8 inclose the nose, mouth, and chin of a wearer, said member having a free edge with halves that are symmetrical on opposite sides of a central plane, said free edge being permanently overturned to form an outwardly facing channel, the line defined by the base of said channel on each side being substantially an ogee curve, the base of said channel being relatively rigid and serving as a hinge about which a considerable area of the side of saidmember is swung bodily inwardly when pressure is applied adjacent the base of saidchannel by positioning the member on the face of a wearer, thus increasing the area of contact of the member with the face and augmenting the gas-excluding seal, a pair of spaced fastening elements carried by each side of said member and approximately equidistant from the said free edge, and a rigid element secured to each pair of said fastening elements, said rigid elements serving to attach head-straps to said member and also to prevent flexure of said member about an axis transverse to said free edge, which flexure would decrease the sealing effect.

2. In a respirator device, a rubber member to inclose the nose, mouth, and chin of a wearer, said member having a free edge with halves that are symmetrical on opposite sides of a central plane, said free edge being permanently overturned to form an outwardly facing channel, the line defined by the base of said channel on each side being substantially an ogee curve, the base of said channel being relatively rigid and serving as a hinge about which a considerable area' of the side of said member is swung bodily inwardly when pressure is applied adjacent the base of said channel by positioning the member on the face of a wearer, thus increasing the area of contact of the member with the face and augmenting the gas-excluding seal, a piece of fabric incorporated in that portion of the member that passes over the nose, said fabric being substantially inextensible longitudinally of the nose covering portion but extensible transversely thereof, a pair of spaced fastening elements carried by each side of said member and approximately equidistant from the said free edge, and a rigid element secured to each pair of said fastening elements, said rigid elements serving to attach head-straps to said member and also to prevent flexure of said member about an axis transverse to said free edge, which fiexure would decrease the sealing effect.

3. In a respirator device, a rubber member to inclose the nose, mouth, and chin of a wearer, said member having a free edge with halves that are symmetrical on opposite sides of a central plane, a narrow zone of said member adjacent said edge being rolled outwardly, the base of said roll defining substantially an ogee curve on each of said halves, the material in said roll being lunatein cross section and the material in said member being thin where joined to said roll and increasing in thickness away from said roll, which predisposes said member to augmented outward roll under the pressure applied to said base when said member is operatively positioned against the face of a wearer, the said thickened base serving as a hinge about which a considerable area of said member adjacent thereto is moved inwardly toward the face of the wearer by the stresses set up due to the said augmented I roll, rigid means attached to the outer surface of each of said halves at points spaced apart and substantially equidistant from said edge, and

means to hold the device on the face of a wearer slidably attached to said rigid means.

In a respirator device, a rubber member to inclose the nose, mouth, and chin of a wearer, said member having a free edge with halves that are symmetrical on opposite sides of a central plane and a narrow zone of said member adjacent said edge being rolled outwardly, the base of said roll defining substantially an ogee curve on each of said halves, the material in said roll being lunate in cross section and the material in said member being thin where joined to said roll and increasing in thickness away from said roll, which predisposes said member to augmented outward roll under the pressure applied to said base when said member is operatively positioned against the face of a wearer, the said thickened base serving as a hinge about which a considerable area of said member adjacent thereto is moved inwardly toward the face of the wearer by the stresses set up due to the said augmented roll.

5. In a respirator device, a rubber member to inclose the nose, mouth, and chin of a wearer, said member having a free edge with halves that are symmetrical on opposite sides of a central plane, a narrow zone of said member adjacent said edge being rolled outwardly, the base of said roll defining substantially an ogee curve on each of said halves, the material in said roll being lunate in cross section and the material in said member being thin where joined to saidroll and increasing in thickness away from said roll, which predisposes said member to augmented outward roll under the pressure applied to said base when said member is operatively positioned against the face of a wearer, the said thickened base serving as a hinge about which a considerable area of said member adjacent thereto is moved inwardly toward the face of the wearer by the stresses set up due to the said augmented roll, and a piece of-fabric incorporated in that portion of the member that passes over the nose, said fabric being substantially inextensible longitudinally of the nose covering portion but extensible transversely thereof.

6. In a respirator device, a rubber member to inclose the nose, mouth, and chin of a wearer, said member having a free edge with halves that are symmetrical on opposite sides of a' central plane, the material of said member being stretchable, said free edge being permanently overturned to define an outwardly facing channel, the base of said channel being relatively rigid and serving as a hinge about which a considerable area of the side of said member is swung bodily inwardly when pressure is applied adjacent said base by positioning said member on the face of a wearer, the size of said member being such that said member is stretched and put under tension by being positioned on the face, the said tension and inward swinging of parts of said member effecting a tight, gasexcluding contact of large area between said member and the face.

7. In a respirator device, a rubber member to inclose the nose, mouth, and chin of a wearer, said member having a flexible free edge, a pair of buttons formed integrally with each side of said member, said buttons being spaced apart and substantially equidistant from said edge, a member somewhat convex toward said edge secured to each said pair of buttons, and two head-straps each having an end attached to each of the last mentioned members to be slidable there along.

8. In a device of the kind described, a body having a face-contacting boundary contour shaped to fit well back under the chin of a wearer, up over the cheeks, curving away from the orbits and fitting up to the bridge of the nose, the marginal zone being rolled outwardly and having a feather edge, the base of the roll being thickened, and the portion of the body wall joined to the roll being thinner than the remainder of the wall, whereby pressure of the face against the base of the roll causes augmented rolling of the wall,the said wall thickening outwardly from said roll, and thickened pads disposed to fit against the nose at the inner ends of the orbits.

9. In a device of the kind described, a body having a face-contacting boundary contour" shaped to fit well back under the chin of a wearer, up over the cheeks, curving away from the orbits and fitting up to the bridge of the nose, the marginal zone being rolled outwardly and having a feather edge, the base of the roll being thickened, and the portion of the body wall joined to the roll being thinner than the remainder of the wall, whereby pressure of the face against the base of the roll sets up in the material adjacent said roll stresses tending to move said adjacent material bodily about the roll as an axis and in the same angular sense as said rolling movement.

WILLIAM P. BIGGS. 

